RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
It’s a dream come true for high school-aged athletes who get to take their game to the college level; so how much greater is it, then, to be able to go to the program you’ve been rooting for since childhood?
That’s what is happening to Grace Reed, a 2023 infielder from New Jersey who has grown up a Villanova Wildcats fan as that was the university her mother attended.
And we have photographic proof that Grace cheered on the Cats: here she is as a young girl sporting her future college’s t-shirt!
Below you can read about her recruiting journey, but it wasn’t like she didn’t earn her way to a college scholarship. The East Coast junior has been lights out on both the high school and club scenes including batting .557 win in 22 games for North Hunterdon High out of Annandale, New Jersey.
Grace also had 12 home runs—one short of her school and conference record—and drove in 27 runs and scored 30 herself to earn 1st Team All-Conference and All-Area honors as well as being ranked in the Top 50 of the 2023 Extra Elite 100.
And this past Summer for Newtown Rock 18U Gold, she batted .379 with five home runs, 12 doubles, 25 runs scored and 32 RBIs in 42 games.
But back to the recruiting process—did she feel pressured or forced to commit to Villanova even though she had a lot of opportunities at major schools nationwide?
Nah… as she puts it simply, when she stepped foot on the Wildcats’ campus “It felt like I was home.”
Here’s more on this athlete on the rise…
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NAME: GRACE REED
Position(s): SS/3B
High School (City/ST): North Hunterdon High School, Annandale, New Jersey
Club Team: Newtown Rock 18U Gold – Garvey
Committed To: Villanova
Date Committed: September 30, 2021
Tell us what’s been a couple of your favorite softball experiences?
I have had so many great experiences playing softball over the years it’s hard to pick just two!
I would probably say as a younger player making the 12U USA All-American team and getting to play in OKC at the Softball Hall of Fame Stadium was an amazing experience. A few of my teammates from that team are my teammates today on Rock.
Another cool experience was winning Nationals in Florida at 12U. We played the championship game in the Space Coast Stadium.
How did Villanova first learn about you to start the recruiting process?
I have been to at least four Villanova camps and have made sure to email Coach (Bridget) Orchard consistently with my schedules and any updates I wanted to share with her.
I also tried to post any highlights of my games on Twitter especially when the coaches weren’t able to come out and watch us play. I was very fortunate that the Villanova coaches were at a lot of my games.
*** Scroll down to learn what convinced her Villanova was “home!”